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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27788533">Kitsune Noir</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnwelcomeStorm/pseuds/UnwelcomeStorm'>UnwelcomeStorm</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Parahumans Series - Wildbow</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Magic</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-11 01:34:56</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>6,461</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27788533</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnwelcomeStorm/pseuds/UnwelcomeStorm</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The paranormal exists, hidden among parahumans and society. It's a dangerous world out there; good thing Taylor Hebert has a 700-year-old fox spirit to help her out.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>82</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chase Game</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>Kitsune Noir</b>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>2 AM on a Saturday and I was running away from an angry dragon. No, not Lung. The actual dragon. He lived on 48<sup>th</sup> street and was kind of a dick.</p><p>Okay, back up a bit. This needs some context.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>My name is Taylor Hebert. I live in Brockton Bay, a worn-down coastal city on the edge of New Hampshire. It's got a failing economy, a worthless port, and way too many parahumans. I should know, I'm one of them. Kinda. Unlike most capes, my power isn't laser beams or superstrength or anything: my power is a person.</p><p>Again, kinda.</p><p>I met my partner a little over a year ago, while I was hiding from my ex-friend at school. I first saw him as a glowing ball of light, ducking and weaving between stacks of bookshelves in the school's meager library. Nobody else was around, and the librarian hadn't marched over to demand to know what was going on with the lightshow, so I decided to follow it. You'd think I'd know better, having been raised by an English Lit professor, but will o' wisps didn't come to mind immediately, sue me. Once I started following, the glowing ball stopped weaving around and made a beeline for one of the little study cubbies at the back of the library, and came to a stop on the desk.</p><p>
  <b>So, you can see me! Well that narrows this down then, doesn't it?</b>
</p><p>I looked around. The voice <em>a-hemmed</em> a couple times until I looked back at the glowing orb. “You...”</p><p>
  <b>Yes, me. </b>
</p><p>“Who are you? Are you a cape?”</p><p>
  <b>Nah. Not like this, anyway. Pleased to meet you, I'm not big on names but I've gone by Jou in the past, so you can call me that.</b>
</p><p>I looked around again, waiting for someone to show up and explain how this was all just another prank. Ha-ha, Taylor's talking to herself. “Your name is... Joe?”</p><p>The glowing ball bobbed up and down for a moment. <b>Eh, close enough. And you are?</b></p><p>“Taylor.”</p><p><b>Great, fantastic. Well, Taylor, I have an offer for you</b>...</p><p>He certainly did. Joe was a fox spirit, emphasis on spirit. As he explained it, he couldn't interact with the physical world without a physical body, and he wanted a body because the physical world had stuff like candy and movies and fried tofu. I, meanwhile, wanted to stop being helpless, bottom of the barrel Taylor Hebert. Or to put it more bluntly, I wanted superpowers.</p><p>So having them more or less offered up on a silver plate? It didn't take much to convince me. I still thought it over for a few days, but Joe was patient and pretty clear on what he wanted out of the bargain: entertainment. Apparently, it gets pretty boring being without a body. I wouldn't be his first host, which did make me a little nervous to think about, but, well, the world was a dangerous place these days. Powers could help me protect myself, as well as let me do something with my life.</p><p>As I said, it didn't take much to convince me. I brought Joe's little glowing ball of energy home with me in my backpack, and followed his instructions. I closed my eyes, held the ball of foxfire in my hands and felt warmth seep into me. When I opened them, I wasn't helpless, bottom of the barrel Taylor Hebert anymore. I watched my ears perk and swivel in the mirror, and counted my seven long, black tails, and grinned. Look out Brockton, here we come.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Which leads back to the dragon.</p><p>Melkhira wasn't a very old dragon, thankfully, but that didn't stop him from being every bit as territorial and jealous as his more mythical kin. A shiver worked its way up one of my tails and I juked to the left, just in time for a fireball to scream past me and impact on an abandoned car. Perfect! I darted into the smoke cloud, one hand covering my mouth and nose, and released a net of energy from my core. The illusion clung to the billowing smoke and expanded, magic working to swallow the sound of my pounding feet and occlude the view of the street beyond it.</p><p>It worked. Melkhira's angry bellows echoed off the nearby buildings, but in his human disguise he didn't have keen enough senses to pierce my illusions. I kept running anyway, of course-- I'm not stupid. But eventually even my enhanced stamina petered out and I slowed to a stop, bent over with my hands on my knees. “I hope you realize... this is all... your fault.”</p><p>
  <b>How was I supposed to know he was going to be home?</b>
</p><p>“Oh I dunno, <em>research</em>?! Like you were supposed to do?!”</p><p><b>Pfahh,</b> my partner scoffed. <b>I found the gem, didn't I? That's the important part. Besides, we came out fine.</b></p><p>“If by fine you mean we stole from a dragon and now he's gonna have it in for us for, like, <em>ever</em>.” Ranting at Joe aside, I kindled my powers and let the stolen gem, a polished rutilated quartz the size of my fist, be swallowed up by a gout of blue-green foxfire. The luminous gem was far from the first thing we'd stolen from another supernatural, and it wouldn't do to leave it out in the open where it could be tracked down and get us mugged.</p><p>“So now that we have it and we've gained yet another angry neighbor... what do we do with it?”</p><p>
  <b>Good question! I almost want to try selling it back to Melkie.</b>
</p><p>“Yeah, he won't take that very well.”</p><p>
  <b>Probably not. We could see if the Adepts want it.</b>
</p><p>“I'd rather not. I don't really want to be on their radar.”</p><p>
  <b>Eh, fair. Just hold onto it for later, I guess. We could trade it for some favors down the line somewhere.</b>
</p><p>I kindled my powers and let my disguise take shape, my seven long tails dissolving into blue-green foxfire and my ears folding back until they vanished in my hair. In no time I was just another boring white guy, perfect for walking home through the edge of Empire territory. Almost-perfect shapeshifting was one of the advantages to sharing my body with a 700-year old fox spirit.</p><p>“Y'know,” I mumbled into my collar, “I can't shake the feeling we forgot something. Joe, what about you?”</p><p>
  <b>Me? No, I haven't forgotten anything.</b>
</p><p>“That doesn't really answer my question. Do you know what I forgot?”</p><p>
  <b>...maaaaaaaaybe.</b>
</p><p>“Joe!”</p><p>
  <b>I mean there may have been a World Studies essay you were supposed to write, but nothing <em>important</em>.</b>
</p><p>“...oh shit.”</p><p> </p><p>* * *</p><p> </p><p>Mr. Gladly was droning on, but my attention was on Madison, watching the cutsey girl sharpen her pencil for an inordinately long time. As I'd thought, she kept on until the teacher turned his back on the class to write on the chalkboard, she emptied the sharpener's reservoir of pencil shavings into her hand. She was so predictable. Not too great at pattern recognition, either, as evidenced by right about... now!</p><p>A quick prod of invisible force to one of her shoes caused the girl to trip, and instinctively spread out her hands to catch herself before she could fall face-first onto the floor. Conveniently, that meant the mess of wood shavings and graphite ended up in her hair instead of mine. Madison's face flushed in a rapid procession of indignation and embarrassment. Priceless.</p><p>
  <b>I agree, but I'm itching to have a go at someone who might stand the barest chance of being a challenge, y'know? Hey, hey, let's go out today, look for some trouble!</b>
</p><p><em>I guess we can check in with the usual suspects, sure,</em> I thought back at my partner. <em>Think the Dead Market's going to be in town?</em></p><p>
  <b>This early in the month? Doubtful, but it wouldn't hurt to check. </b>
</p><p>
  <em>We can check out the regular markets, too, for a change of pace.</em>
</p><p>
  <b>If this action results in ramen I am all for it.</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>* * *</b>
</p><p> </p><p>After school, I left a note for dad and then ventured back out in search of a bus to take me to the Lord's Market. It had become one of my favorite places to hang out, after Joe became my partner. The sheer number of sights and smells and sounds I could pick up on was almost a high of its own, and this is where most of my allowance and various ill-gotten gains tended to end up; Joe tended to think with his stomach, and the array of street food available here was delightful. Best of all, shapeshifting meant I never got fat. I felt truly sorry for all the plebs who had to count calories.</p><p>I stopped by a cafe for a brownie and a ridiculously sugary coffee. So very, very sorry.</p><p>I was enjoying my decadence when something pricked at my senses. It felt like being watched, and also like pulling a comb lightly through the fur on my ears. I looked around the cafe until I spotted the source: another girl, about my age, tapping away at a laptop. She had a half-eaten pastry and a still sugary, but not quite ridiculously so coffee on the table next to her. I studied her: blonde-ish, green eyes, freckles, and a crease in her forehead that looked like a headache.</p><p>
  <em>That what I think it is?</em>
</p><p>
  <b>Cape, yeah. Thinker, from the feel of it. Gonna poke her?</b>
</p><p>
  <em>Oh yeah.</em>
</p><p>
  <b>Awesome.</b>
</p><p>The cape took a sip of her coffee and caught me staring. I started to grin, and her eyes widened. Without a word I scooped up my drink and treat and walked briskly over to her table, sitting down across from her without an invitation. She pulled the screen of her laptop down a little, still eyeing me. There was a half-smile on her face now, a kind of a mix between 'I know something you don't know' and 'what is this stranger doing?' I just smiled wider, and tuned my own powers onto her. Cape, like I thought. Definitely Thinker. Not expecting to be surprised out of costume. Knows that I know she's a cape. And knows that I know that she knows.</p><p>The two Thinker powers dissolved into a tangle of she-knows-I-know-she-knows. The cape fully closed her laptop, all of her attention on me, and a wary gleam in her eyes. I, on the other hand, was nearly vibrating with excitement. “Well this is fun.”</p><p>“Is it?” She asked me, her half-smile becoming a smug grin. “Most people wouldn't think so.”</p><p>“I'm not most people. And neither are you.”</p><p>The cape glanced to the side to check for eavesdroppers. Right, right, secret identities. I lowered my voice. “No worries. It's all in good fun, yeah?”</p><p>“That's what I always say,” she responded. “So, who—”</p><p>I reached out and put my hand over her mouth. “Nope! No questions! You don't know me and I don't know you.”</p><p>She pulled my hand away. I kept talking. “Let's play a game. Somewhere between Tag and Hide-and-Seek. I'll chase after you, and you'll chase after me. Whomever gets the other one's name first wins. Loser helps out the winner. Sounds good?”</p><p>The cape hadn't quite shaken off her confusion, but I could see it in her eyes: competition. It didn't even matter if she'd had no plans to go along with my idea. I'd challenged her and now she wanted to win. She wanted to prove she was smarter, more clever, more devious. She wanted to outfox me. It wouldn't happen, but it was going to be a great game along the way.</p><p>“Start in 30 minutes? Yes? Great!” I finished my brownie in two quick bites, chased it with my coffee, then stood. The cafe's door chimed when I opened it as I was leaving. “Catch me if you can!”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Tattletale started scrambling to pack up her laptop.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Setbacks</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p> </p><p>Of course it crossed my mind to cheat. If the cape was smart she'd be getting as far away from the cafe before the game officially started as she could, to reduce the chance of me successfully following her. And to be honest, I really, really wanted to. Not even to find her super secret lair or whatever. I was immensely tempted to follow her in disguise just long enough for her to notice, then break my disguise and run away, deliberately letting her know that I could be <em>anyone</em>.</p><p>But, it was me who proposed this little game in the first place, so it'd probably be pretty rude to break the spirit of it only five minutes in.</p><p><b>So, what's the game plan, here?</b> Joe sounded almost as excited as I was. I grinned to myself and started hurrying away from the market towards the nearest bus stop.</p><p>
  <em>Library first. We're on even footing starting off-- we both know the other is a 'cape' but don't know how active the other is. I'm going to trawl PHO and Capepedia and see if there's any info about Thinkers in Brockton Bay.</em>
</p><p><b>And she'll probably do the same, and come up with nothing,</b> Joe laughed. I wasn't dumb enough to think I'd gone entirely unnoticed in my mischief, but at best the only info on me available was that there was an unnamed cape with a fox motif who occasionally ran around at night and started a few fires. Nothing to give away that I counted as a Thinker. Though, who knows? If the cape's power was strong enough, maybe she'd find a connection there anyway. The uncertainty was thrilling.</p><p> </p><p>* * *</p><p> </p><p>The results, when I finally got them, were less than thrilling. Nothing.</p><p>There was nothing! No PHO threads about any local Thinkers, no wiki articles, <em>nothing</em>! There was a tiny stub article about me, but nothing on her! She'd been more under the radar than I was!</p><p>“Damn you, hubris,” I cursed. Joe just laughed at me. <b>Shoulda just followed her after all, eh?</b></p><p>“Yeah, yeah, hindsight is a chalice of regrets, I know,” I huffed, then leaned back in the stiff library computer chair and rubbed at my temples. So, where did that leave me? I had no leads to go off of, only a basic description, and a vague idea of what her power might be. That left...</p><p>“We'll have to scry for her,” I muttered. “If we can catch her out and about a few times we can figure out if she's got a cape persona, or if she's completely off the grid.”</p><p>
  <b>Normally I'd agree, but that's a tall order. We have no idea where in the city to start.</b>
</p><p>“I'd guess the Marketplace, since we know she gone there at least once?” I started packing up my things and logged off of the computer, already feeling uneasy. This was going to <em>suck</em>.</p><p>Joe had accrued a lot of power over the centuries of his life, adding something new with every tail, and refining the abilities already there. What he called scrying, I called precognition. It let me feel out events before they happened, with the power waxing and waning depending on how far around me I looked, and how far in the future I tried to feel. It was his most recent tail, so it wasn't as strong as I'd have liked, but complaining about it was just being greedy. I usually kept that power at a low hum wrapped tight around my body so it served as an immediate danger sense; it was how I spotted Emma and her lackeys' pranks early and how I'd avoided being toasted by Melkhira.</p><p>Trying to find where someone I didn't even know would be in the near future? Yeah... 'tall order' was an understatement. I mused on the logistics of the stupid thing I was about to attempt on the way back to the Marketplace.</p><p> </p><p>* * *</p><p> </p><p>I returned to the cafe, and looked around the area until I found a public bench not too far from it. The cape had looked at least a little familiar with the cafe, given that she'd been working on something there, so I was banking on coffee and a pastry being at least an occasional habit. More to the point, I was hoping that she'd come back here to try to spot and follow <em>me</em>.</p><p>I checked to the left and the right to watch for the Marketplace's enforcers, then took a deep breath and turned my thoughts outwards, focusing as hard as I could on what the cape had looked like. The world faded to misty gray and quick-moving shadows, silhouettes of everyone who'd be in the Marketplace between now and this time tomorrow. My energy was being consumed at a frightening pace, but just before I ran out I spotted a glowing figure arrive on the other side of the street-- as I'd hoped, she was coming back to stake out the cafe.</p><p>The vision broke apart and I slumped down on the bench, moaning. My whole body felt like lead, and my brain was full of live coals. Using up that much energy was taxing, and trying to push the limits of Joe's scrying was worthy of a migraine. Doing both? Ow.</p><p>
  <b>Uh oh. Taylor, cape at 12 o'clock!</b>
</p><p>
  <em>No, she'll be here around 4.</em>
</p><p>
  <b>Taylor!</b>
</p><p>A hand touched my shoulder. “Miss? Are you okay?”</p><p>I opened tear-filled eyes to see a blurry figure in red just in front of me, and when I blinked it resolved into a young man in a red costume, lined with silver trim and the emblem of a shield on his chest. Just behind him was a shorter figure, fully concealed in white and with clocks as his decoration. Aegis and Clockblocker. <em>Oops.</em></p><p>“Are you hurt? Do you need us to call an ambulance?”</p><p>“A-ah...” I stumbled, raising one hand to my head and trying not to tear up any further. “No, I'm-- I'm fine.”</p><p>“You don't really look fine,” one of them said. It was a bit hard to tell which, with both of their mouths being covered. I think it was Clockblocker.</p><p>“Just-- just a headache. Thinking too hard, eheh...” Wait, hadn't the cape wiki said Thinkers get headaches?</p><p>
  <b>Taylor, you numpty.</b>
</p><p>
  <em>Well maybe if you had a social competency power these things wouldn't happen!</em>
</p><p>
  <b>There's no such thing!</b>
</p><p>
  <em>Yes there is, the Fae have it!</em>
</p><p>
  <b>Yeah, but the Fae are colossal jerks!</b>
</p><p>I winced again. Even Joe's mental 'voice' was too damn loud right now. I moved to stand up and Aegis offered me his arm, like a gentleman. My legs shook, which didn't go unnoticed.</p><p>“Hey, easy. You really don't look okay. Are you sure you don't need a doctor? Or at least a taxi?”</p><p>“No-- no. I'll be fine. I'll just have to take it easy for a while. Um... thanks for the help.” With my legs more or less steadying, I slipped off of Aegis's arm, gave an awkward wave, and hurried off. I didn't even care in what direction, just anywhere away from the heroes and my shame. And hopefully in the direction of the bus stop, because I needed to fall face-first into bed and sleep for like 10 hours, minimum.</p><p>Besides. Running away from a hero was probably going to make me introspective. I hated being introspective.</p><p> </p><p>* * *</p><p> </p><p>The suckitude of my little stunt continued through the next day. I was too worn out to pay much attention to anything, and as a result got glue dumped on me by one of Emma's friends. Again. Thank goodness it was just on my hoodie, if that stuff had gotten into my hair then I couldn't be held responsible for what I would do to them.</p><p>I mean, I could probably get rid of it with a bit of shapeshifting, but that wasn't the point. I sighed at the filthy bathroom mirror as I tried to wash the offending gunk out of my clothes.</p><p>
  <b>I still say we should poke back a bit harder. Maybe trip Sophia while she's running in Track.</b>
</p><p>The thought of Sophia losing a race and getting benched with a broken leg for the forseeable future cheered me up, until I remembered that even if she never found out what happened she'd still take her frustrations out on me. I couldn't dodge anything the bullies threw at me, both from sheer volume and that if I started being perfectly unharmed they'd get suspicious. Or they'd get more... <em>insistent</em>. Neither of which I really wanted to deal with.</p><p>
  <b>No? Thought not. Well, I do have some good news, at least.</b>
</p><p>“Yeah? What's up?”</p><p>
  <b>I figured out what we can do with that gem we stole! That thing's a quartz, it's meant for storing energy. A magical battery, if you will.</b>
</p><p>“And?”</p><p>
  <b>And, the reason yesterday flopped is because we ran out of juice. So if we start banking some extra energy here and there...</b>
</p><p>“...we'll have a power source for if we need to scry something big! Joe, that's genius.”</p><p><b>I know.</b> His voice was smug, but hey, he'd earned it. I finished squeezing water out of my hoodie, eyed the garment, and nodded. Clean enough. “Hey, wanna skip last period? We can grab a snack and a vantage point.”</p><p>
  <b>You had me at snack.</b>
</p><p> </p><p>* * *</p><p> </p><p>Finding either of those wasn't too hard, though it did remind me that I needed to restock my wallet with ill-gotten gains soon. Eventually I found the most out-of-the-way table and chair that I could, outside some bistro, then got comfortable. I carefully wove power into a net and cast it over me, the illusion turning 'girl sitting in a chair' to 'an empty chair.' It wasn't invisibility-- I couldn't move around without breaking the spell, and if someone decided to sit in the empty chair I was in for a bad time. Other than that, the only obstacle was patience.</p><p>The cape did eventually show up, just as I'd forseen, though it took me an embarrassingly long time to spot her. She'd done her blonde hair up in a different style than the day before, and was wearing a blouse and skirt instead of the pants and shirt she'd been wearing yesterday. She sat on a public bench and pretended to read a book for a while. I could barely make out subtle motions of her head as she scanned the area, looking for me. Her line of sight passed over the bistro, then moved on.</p><p>Then she frowned, and looked at the bistro again. After a moment she started eyeing the area I was in more blatantly.</p><p>
  <em>Shit. Can she see us?</em>
</p><p>
  <b>I don't think so, but she definitely knows something's up.</b>
</p><p>
  <em>She's got a good power, then. I can't wait to find out what it does.</em>
</p><p>We both watched each other for another minute or two from our respective hiding places, until the cape slipped a bookmark into her book, got up, and started walking away at a brisk pace. I stayed put until she was almost out of sight. I kindled my power while I was still behind the illusion, copied the appearance of a random woman walking nearby, then dropped the illusion and started to follow the cape. I managed to tail her pretty well until we left the Marketplace's relative crowds behind us. Then, without any visible prompting, the cape sped up until she was running.</p><p>“Alright, that does it. Time to break out the tiny guns,” I groused. Fortunately, there's always an alleyway nearby in Brockton Bay. I ducked into the nearest one, kindled my power, and let my form vanish into the blue-green fires of energy. When the fire extinguished, there was nobody in the alley.</p><p>Nobody but a little black fox, anyways. One on a <em>mission</em>.</p><p>I scrabbled across the asphalt and started following the cape's scent trails. Foxes might not be as good of trackers as hounds, but they're better than humans, that's for sure. I kept a close eye for traffic and scurried after the cape. She rapidly outpaced me, of course, but that was mostly fine. It was probably even for the best, as once I stopped being near her she must have stopped being alarmed by my presence. After several random twists and turns, her trail started following a more definite direction.</p><p>She eventually led me to what looked like an abandoned building, maybe an old factory or manufacturing place. The upstairs was too far for my little fox ears to pick up on voices, but I could smell other people had been in and around here, and also--</p><p>also--</p><p>A dog started barking from within the building, followed by another. I bolted.</p><p>Eventually, several blocks away, I calmed down enough to find a secluded spot to become human again, still panting and with my and Joe's nerves all rattled. Dogs. They had <em>dogs</em>.</p><p>I mean, the day wasn't wasted. I had a location to snoop around in, I knew the cape wasn't alone, and since I doubted a hero team or a rogue would be squatting, that narrowed the field down to villain and villain-adjacent. So, that was lots of new information.</p><p>But they had dogs. Dogs. Chase. Foxes.</p><p>I caught my breath, put on a disguise, and started heading towards home. This was going to be tricky.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Smirk</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Wards' visits were always a bore. The Protectorate sent them around to each school every few months, so they could recite canned messages about community spirit and anti-bullying and all that jazz. Most students used it as an excuse to chat or play with their phones for an hour. I didn't have a phone or anyone to chat to besides Joe, so we spent the time in the auditorium trying to think of ways to get past those damn dogs. I suggested getting some treats or strips of meat, but Joe insisted that, based on his experience, dogs would choose the fox over the treat every time.<br/>
<br/>
So I was probably going to have to stake out that building. There wasn't a lawn or anything nearby, so somebody had to take the dogs out for a walk, right? Right. I'd just have to wait for that to happen, then I could sneak in and snoop around. At least I had a lead on who her group might be, since the number of multiple-cape associations in town were limited. My current money was on the Undersiders, with low odds of Circus having discovered social skills in her bag of holding. Honestly, I'd prefer the latter. Rumor had it that the Undersiders had picked up Hellhound.<br/>
<br/>
Because it couldn't just be dogs, nooooo, they had to have giant monster dogs!<br/>
<br/>
<b>Uh, Taylor? Assembly's over. Get your game face back on.</b><br/>
<br/>
I blinked, startled out of my angry sulk. As Joe said, the auditorium was steadily emptying and the Wards had gone offstage already. My head immediately turned to find the spot where Emma and her cronies had been sitting. Just my luck, she, Julie, and Madison were still there, whispering together. I caught Madison glance in my direction and smile sweetly. Crap. I'd planned to get lost in the crowd of students, not dally until I was a visible target. I already had dog problems today, I didn't need bitch problems on top of it.<br/>
<br/>
I hurriedly slung my backpack over my shoulder and stood up, then started hustling my way out of the bleachers as fast as I could. I faintly heard Emma's little group start to get up as well. Ughhhh, there was no way I'd escape unscathed if I headed to class, I'd get caught between the throng of students and Emma's hunting party. With that in mind I took an abrupt detour, turning left in the main hall and hustling down a side path. Emma wouldn't want to try getting a late pass, so if I could find a place to bunker down for a few minutes I could simply outlast her interest. Lessee... bathroom, gym locker room, other bathroom... locked office!<br/>
<br/>
I pressed the invisible telekinesis of Joe's fourth tail into the lock, quickly felt out the tumblers, and pressed them into place. The lock opened with a soft click and I washed no time yanking open the door as well. I slid inside the room and closed the door, keeping my eyes on the sparse cracks in the closed blinds covering the window that faced into the hall. I hadn't seen if Emma had turned the corner yet when I chose my hiding spot, and--<br/>
“Hey! What are you doing in here!?”<br/>
<br/>
I squeaked in surprise and whipped around, hands behind my back as though I'd just been caught doing something wrong. Objectively, I had: I'd just broken into a locked room. One being used by the Wards as their debrief and/or changing room, if Aegis stuffing his mask back onto his face was any indication. Vista still had her visor on and the kid in the power armor (not Kid Win... Gallant, I thought?) was still in full gear, thankfully. Maybe I wouldn't be going to jail today. “Nothing?”<br/>
<br/>
“And how did you get in? That door was locked,” Vista hissed at me.<br/>
<br/>
“Er... was it?” The force of her glare told me that any stalling tactic was not going to fly here. I sighed. “Okay, yes it was, but I didn't mean to get in <em>here</em>, it was just the first closed door I found.”<br/>
<br/>
“You need to explain y--” I shushed Aegis before he could get any further, my ears picking up on the sound of Emma's posse finally reaching the door I'd ducked into. The doorknob twisted once, twice; I'd at least remembered to lock it again. Emma and a couple of her friends giggled, just outside.<br/>
<br/>
“What's wrong, Taylor? You're not running away from me, are you?”<br/>
<br/>
I heard Julie chime in next: “Maybe she's so stupid she thought that was the gym locker room, and she wanted to give the boys a quickie before class started again.”<br/>
<br/>
“Ha!” Emma barked, “Like they'd stoop that low, to go for an ugly twig like her. She'd have to pay them!”<br/>
<br/>
Everyone stood in an awkward silence as Emma's diatribe continued on the other side of the door for a few more moments, ending with a chorus of laughter and fading footsteps. I looked back up before anyone could say anything. “Ignore her. She ran out of good ammunition months ago, there's been a lot of weird sex stuff since. I'm starting to think she has a complex.”<br/>
<br/>
“I think we need to see the principal. Bullying like this cannot be tolerated.” There's Mr. Leader getting fired up; I can tell because he lowered the pitch of his voice a little, trying to sound bigger and more in charge. I do briefly consider going along with him, watching Aegis of the Wards try to pry a response from Blackwell could be amusing. Alas, probably not worth the trouble it would cause me.<br/>
<br/>
“Uh, sure it can. It always is, everywhere.” I shrug as masked faces turn back towards me. “As long as there's no reason for someone to sue the school, it's a whole lot easier to just look the other way. And if you try to make an issue of it, <em>I'll</em> be getting the hammer as well, just to make a point about disturbing the peace.”<br/>
<br/>
“Wha-- you haven't done anything wrong!”<br/>
<br/>
“I mean, I broke in here?” I shrugged again. “And even if I hadn't, the administration would find something to nail me on. It's just the way the world works.”<br/>
<br/>
“But... that's just... <em>wrong</em>.” Vista's voice fell, growing quiet even as she protested.<br/>
<br/>
“Right and wrong doesn't enter into it. Who has power is all that really matters. And besides!” I touched the lock again and the tumblers slid into place with an audible click. No real point in hiding that anymore. “I'm sure that keeping emotionally unstable adolescents in a high-stress environment and allowing them to keep each other in a constant state of fight-or-flight anxiety for months on end can result in no negative repercussions whatsoever!”<br/>
<br/>
I caught Mr. Leader jolt a bit as though stung, and what's visible under Vista's visor showed her face growing pale. I give them a cheerful grin and a wave, then slip back out the door.<br/>
<br/>
<b>Disillusioning the brats, hm?</b><br/>
<br/>
<em>Hey, at least I'm gentle about it!</em><br/>
<br/>
<b>Didn't you want to join them at one point?</b> I winced. Of course I had. Get powers, be a hero, it was the logical conclusion. I'd let that ideal fall by the wayside, and quietly buried it beside the road.<br/>
<br/>
* * *<br/>
<br/>
A couple days later, I discovered that dad's old binoculars were not a very effective tool for a stakeout. It took multiple different attempts to find a building that was far enough away from the almost-certainly Undersiders' hideout that I wouldn't alert the dogs, but still close enough I could get a dim view of the exit on the ground floor. I'd managed to catch a few people coming and going, including what I thought was the blonde cape I was after, but I still hadn't managed to be perched and waiting in time to see anyone taking the hounds out.<br/>
<br/>
“What a waste of my week,” I grumbled. “At least I can finish this if I ever manage to get inside.”<br/>
<br/>
<b>You think she's going to have her name on her door or something?</b><br/>
<br/>
“I think she'll have a purse or wallet somewhere. And if that fails I'm going to kidnap the first teammate I see and get the info out of them.”<br/>
<br/>
And then, finally—FINALLY--it happened. Someone opened the door at the base of the building and two dogs stepped out, leashes held by a person in a rough-looking jacket. The unfamiliar person (I squinted, but couldn't really say if they were a man or a woman, even with the binoculars. Stupid old things.) led their hounds to the nearest sidewalk and started walking away. I waited a good five minutes for them to get some distance, already quivering in excitement. When the dog-walker failed to double back I shoved the binoculars into my backpack and grinned all the way down the fire escape.<br/>
<br/>
Getting through the locked door was easy, though I kept instinctively tensing up and listening for a leftover dog to start barking. None did. I just needed a disguise, and I was home free; and I had one all picked out.<br/>
<br/>
Once inside the building's empty lower floor, I kindled my power and let it trace over me, changing me to as close of a replica of the cape I was hunting as I could do. Within moments, it was like the Thinker had just returned from the cafe, with my backpack replaced by a laptop bag. I consulted with Joe to make sure a few details were right, remembering the freckles and such, before I started up the stairs that led to the villains' lair.<br/>
<br/>
<b>Not entirely sure what I expected,</b> Joe remarked as I stepped inside, <b>but a relatively nice apartment probably wasn't it.</b><br/>
<br/>
<em>No kidding. I wonder how much being a supervillain actually pays. That's a big TV over there.</em><br/>
<br/>
In addition to the big-screen television, there were a couple of high-end game systems being used by a dark-haired young man sitting on a comfortable-looking couch, the whole setup taking a good portion of the central living area. The lair also had a clean kitchenette, a dining island, and a number of closed doors each marked by a different painted sign. A pair of lips, a crown...<br/>
<br/>
“Hey, Tats,” the guy on the couch glanced over his shoulder at her. “Thought you were still here.”<br/>
<br/>
“I was actually on my way out, but I forgot I had to do something still.” I curved my lips in a smug smile, and the pretty young man grunted and turned back to his game.<br/>
<br/>
“Since you're up, wanna grab me a soda?”<br/>
<br/>
“Ah-- sure,” I said, and turned towards the kitchenette. I made it two steps towards the fridge before my left leg suddenly spasmed and I tripped, falling flat on my face onto the tiles. “Ow!”<br/>
<br/>
I tried to get to my feet and this time one of my arms twisted the wrong way. I gave up on the motion and just rolled over instead, to find the pretty boy had abandoned his game entirely and was now hanging over the back of the couch, a scepter in one hand and a blank expression on his face. He gestured with the scepter again and my arm flailed again. “M'kay. So, who're you and how'd you get in here?”<br/>
<br/>
<b>I think the jig is up.</b><br/>
<br/>
I froze for a moment, but couldn't really see any way out of the situation. I vaguely recognized the villain this guy must have been: Regent, a low-classed Master who could make your muscles twitch and flail, according to the scattered info on the Undersiders that I'd been able to find. Their only dangerous member was Hellhound, so I rather doubted that this fancy fellow could seriously hurt me. It still stung my pride to be caught out so easily, but oh well. I could still turn this around. I stuck my tongue out at Regent, then kindled my power and let the magic dissolve. I saw his eyebrows raise and couldn't help but smirk.<br/>
<br/>
“Okay, you got me. I'm not your teammate.”<br/>
<br/>
“Yeah, that's not what I asked.”<br/>
<br/>
“It isn't, but, what're you gonna do? Turn me in? Or are you going to live the meme, and... Touch. Fluffy. Tail?”<br/>
<br/>
Regent grinned slightly, and walked around the couch. Actually seeing him stand up, now I could see he was indeed, as rumors had stated, wearing a puffy Renaissance shirt and tight pants. What a fancy boy. It was almost a shame I was going to have to dump his unconscious body somewhere after I got the information I wanted from him. He stepped closer, and I smiled.<br/>
<br/>
Then my hand slapped me. Not hard at all, but enough to make me yelp in surprise and stare at Regent with wide-eyed indignation. He had the gall to laugh. “I'm pretty, not stupid.”<br/>
<br/>
I scrambled backwards, fuming, and he let me stand up. Regent kept his scepter pointed at me, then tilted his head slightly and called out, “Hey Tats! We've got a guest!”<br/>
<br/>
The door with the painted lips opened, and a girl in a form-fitting lavender costume walked out. As as soon as she spotted me, that familiar smile crawled across her face. I tried not to pout.<br/>
<br/>
“Well, thanks for stopping by, <em>Taylor</em> <em>Hebert</em>. What do I win?”</p>
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